E-commerce (Electronic Commerce) is the best online platform to sell your products and services. It’s easier to have an online store than ever before.
But it’s hard to succeed in the eCommerce Business.
You have to follow a sequence of steps to guarantee your success.
The main problem store owners face is that they don’t know the process needed to start an online store with Shopify.
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Do you want to start your eCommerce store, but don’t know how to start?
With this post, we’d like to share some key points that help you establish an eCommerce store.
Choose Your Business Name
Of course, the first thing you have to do is choose your business name. That should be fabulous, unique, and an attention-grabber.
Ensure your brand name resembles the product category you want customers to identify. Once you’ve chosen the name, register your business.
To start your eCommerce store legally in the US, you have to register your business as one of the following:
- LLC (Limited Liability Company)
- Cooperative
- Sole proprietorship
- Corporation
- Partnership
- Get Your Domain Name and Web Space to Host
In order to start an ecommerce business, it’s essential to get a license/approval from governing bodies. The domain name is an important part of your business. But what is the domain name?
It is the complete address of your website on the internet. It is best if your business name and store name are the same. If it’s not available, choose a domain name that’s easy to remember and matches your business.
Most eCommerce business owners use “.com” as a domain name extension. But, many other TLDs (Top-Level Domains) are available, like .net or .org.
To get a domain name for your eCommerce business, you can use domain providers like Name.com, GoDaddy, etc.
Selecting a Product
With the internet, you can sell anything.
But, finding the best product to sell is the biggest hurdle that the store owner faces. Though the business is run online, you can choose products like digital, electronic, and much more.
While choosing a product, you have to identify the customer’s demand. The link below helps you find a product. Just click on it.
Choose the right eCommerce Platform
Don’t spend too much on technology! In fact, many eCommerce platforms and shopping carts are available at a low cost.
A ready-made solution is the best choice. Some eCommerce development platforms that fit all your requirements are Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and more.
Key Features:
- Plug-ins/ Extensions/ Add-ons
- SEO-friendly
- Supports Payment Gateways
- Easy to customize
I personally recommend Shopify for creating an online store. It’s easy to use and manage, offers full customization, is less expensive, and is a trustworthy platform for beginners.
How do you start an online e-commerce store with Shopify?
Setting up a Payment Gateway
Since the eCommerce store can’t accept payments online, the store owner needs a payment gateway to accept money through credit and debit cards.
Payment Gateway is the easiest way to transfer money from a customer’s account to the merchant’s.
Using a hosted eCommerce solution is the best choice. It allows payment gateway integration with the store.
Too many options are available, like PayPal, Braintree, SagePay, Authorize.net, Amazon Payments, and more.
But ensure your payment gateway processes transactions quickly and securely, providing multiple payment options.
SEO & Marketing
Once you’ve launched your online store with Shopify, you will need a strategy to attract customers. Therefore, drive traffic to your store using SEO, social media, banner ads, pay-per-click advertising, blogs, and emails.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps you rank your website highly and drive significant traffic without excessive spending. Tools like SEMRush and Google Analytics allow you to monitor visits and analyze keywords other merchants use to rank. This gives you an idea of which pages on your site bring traffic and whether people are interested in your products.
- Social media is another important aspect of eCommerce marketing! Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest offer innovative options to drive more traffic and convert it into profitable sales. You can also replicate your store on Facebook, allowing users to buy directly from it.
- Shipping & Fulfillment
The real challenge that store owners face is deciding on a strategy to charge their customers for shipping products.
There are several ways suggested below:
- Free Shipping
- Charge Real-Time Carrier-Calculated Rates
- Charge Full Rates
Make sure you have enough goods with you in order to fulfill the customer’s requirements. Just order fulfillment is not enough, make sure that the goods are the best and must reach on time.
For beginners, a third-party logistics provider is the right option.
You don’t need your warehouse, physical store, or physical goods; a 3PL provides everything efficiently at a low cost. With providers like Amazon, Printer Partner, and many more, you can start a small business, but scale it whenever required.
They’ll provide everything you need to start a business without any investment.
If you find it difficult, let us help you out. You can contact us at +1 (845) 418-5206 or via Skype at‘ Metizsoft’.
Post Launch
One of the most important things is your customer feedback.
This will help improve your store’s functionality. Consequently, it will encourage more purchases. Use email marketing to remind your customers about offers, discounts, and new arrivals.
Offer gifts or lucky coupons as a complement to attract new or existing customers.
Surprising a customer is a great tactic to hold customers’ attention.
Epilogue
Building an eCommerce business on your own is not an easy task. You have to do a lot of work, research, and investment.
However, nothing is impossible. Hopefully, this article may help you build a profitable eCommerce business with zero investment.
If you have any queries regarding the platform, payment gateway, or anything you have in your mind, please contact us at sales@metizsoft.com.
Metizsoft is a leading eCommerce web & Mobile App development company, and we are Certified Shopify Experts who provide reliable Shopify Store setup. We are more than happy to help you to create your own online store.
